Efficacy of hybrid therapy as first-line regimen for Helicobacter pylori infection compared with sequential therapy.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Recent prospective studies have shown that the sequential therapy has not achieved the target Helicobacter pylori eradication rate of > 80% in Korea. The aim of this study was to therefore assess the efficacy of the hybrid therapy as a first-line treatment for H. pylori eradication in a prospective trial. METHODS: From December 2012 to August 2013, 184 patients with confirmed H. pylori infections received either the 14-day hybrid therapy or the 14-day sequential therapy. Eradication outcomes were evaluated using a 13C-urea breath test at least 4 weeks after treatment cessation. RESULTS: A total of 184 patients (90 receiving hybrid treatment and 94 receiving sequential treatment) completed the study. The eradication rates of the hybrid and sequential therapy groups were 81.1% (73/90; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 73.0-89.2%) and 79.8% (75/94; 95%CI = 71.7-87.9%), respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis (P = 0.821). By per protocol analysis, eradication rates were 85.9% (73/85; 95%CI = 78.5-93.3%) and 82.0% (73/89; 95%CI = 74.0-89.9%; P = 0.489), respectively. There were no significant intergroup differences in treatment compliance or discontinuation induced by severe side effects. CONCLUSIONS: The hybrid therapy achieved acceptable eradication rate (85.9%), but not statistically significantly higher rates than the sequential therapy (82.0%). Further studies are therefore needed to identify first-line treatments with even better eradication rates in the Korean population.

Ten-day sequential therapy is more effective than proton pump inhibitor-based therapy in Korea: a prospective, randomized study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The eradication rate of proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has decreased, mainly due to increasing antibiotic resistance, especially against clarithromycin. It has been reported that a 10-day sequential strategy can produce good outcomes. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the efficacy of sequential therapy as the first-line treatment for the eradication of H. pylori in Korea. METHODS: A total of 116 patients with proven H. pylori infection received 10-day sequential therapy (20 mg rabeprazole and 1 g amoxicillin, twice daily for the first 5 days, followed by 20 mg rabeprazole, 500 mg clarithromycin, and 500 mg metronidazole, twice daily for the remaining 5 days); 130 patients received 7-day triple therapy (20 mg rabeprazole, 500 mg clarithromycin, and 1 g amoxicillin, twice daily for 7 days). Eradication was evaluated by the (13) C-urea breath test, 4 weeks after the completion of treatment. Compliance and adverse events were assessed. RESULTS: The eradication rates of 10-day sequential therapy and PPI-based triple therapy were 79.3% (92/116) and 63% (82/130) by intention-to-treat analysis, respectively (P = 0.005), and 81.9% (91/111) and 64.5% (82/127) by per protocol analysis, respectively (P = 0.003). Mild adverse events occurred in both therapy groups (27.5% vs 23.8%), but both treatments were well tolerated. CONCLUSION: The eradication rate of the 10-day sequential therapy regimen was significantly higher than that of PPI-based triple therapy in the Korean population. Ten-day sequential therapy might be effective as a first-line treatment for H. pylori infection in Korea.